THE administrators of failed Glasgow firm Hamilton Burns have confirmed that they expect to be able to pay its former employees all the wages, holiday pay and pension contributions they were owed when it ceased to trade at the end of May.
The firm, which former SNP MP Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh had been a partner in until entering parliament in 2015, appointed Tom MacLennan and Iain Fraser of FRP Advisory as joint administrators after finding itself unable to service debts totalling over £613,000.
Of that, £25,000 was owed to the firm’s 17 staff members, nine of whom were made redundant as a result of the administration. One staff member was kept on to assist with realising the firm’s assets while four found new roles at Latta Law and directors Gary Moss and Lorraine Kelly took one trainee with them to form new firm Moss & Kelly Solicitors.
In a report to creditors Mr MacLennan and Mr Fraser said they anticipate that former staff “will be paid in full”, adding that it is “currently estimated that there will be sufficient funds available to make a contribution to unsecured creditors in due course”.
Unsecured creditors include HMRC, which is owed £210,000 in unpaid taxes, as well as Glasgow City Council and finance businesses Kingsway Asset Finance and LDF Finance.
The local authority is owed £11,000 in unpaid business rates while the lenders are owed £25,000 and £65,000 respectively.
At £241,400, the largest individual debt is owed to Niall Mickel, a former partner at Hamilton Burns who left the firm in December 2015.
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